The Jets have signed rookie QB Cade Klubnik, the club's second pick of the fourth round in April's draft.
Klubnik (6-2, 207) went 26-14 as a starter at Clemson while becoming the fifth Tigers QB to start 40 games. In 12 starts last season, Klubnik competed 65.6 percent of his passes for 2,943 yards with 16 TDs and 6 INTs.
"I'm excited to go to work," he said after getting drafted. "It's a new staff, it's a new program, it's a new culture, and it's going to be a new roster. So, let's go to work."
Klubnik was the fifth quarterback drafted, following No. 1 overall Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas), Ty Simpson (LA Rams), Carson Beck (Arizona) and Drew Allar (Pittsburgh). Geno Smith is the Jets' starter, but Klubnik will compete in a room that also includes veteran Bailey Zappe and second-year passer Brady Cook.
"Obviously we brought in Geno to be our starter, and I'm not going to put a cap on him on how many years he can play, so I don't even go into the fact of he's here [signed] for a year," HC Aaron Glenn said. "As long as he's producing, as long as he's the best guy, he's going to continue to play.
"But obviously, in this league, you got to have a system where there are backups and there are guys that are pushing the starter. You always want to create that type of competition. Listen, I'm not going to sit here and say exactly where Cade is going to play. The thing is, those guys can go out there and compete, you know? So right now, I like the room. I like where it's at. The guys can continue to compete, and I don't want to cap any of those guys as far as playtime, and how long are they going to play."
In 2024, Klubnik started 14 games and hit on 63.4 percent of his passes while amassing 3,639 yards in the air with 36 TDs and 6 INTs. He produced the seventh 4,000-yards season of total offense in school history with his 4,102 yards ranking fourth nationally. Klubnik had 43 combined passing and rush TDs.
"Felt really good about Cade," GM Darren Mougey said. "It started obviously last year, evaluating all those quarterbacks going into this year. We had good grades on Cade going in this year, and then, you're watching this year, he got hurt early, and was playing hurt much of the year, and that team kind of struggled, but was excited to get around him at the combine."
After starting 3-5 last season, Klunbik and the Tigers rallied to win their final four regular-season games. From 2022-25, Klubnik completed 916-of-1,432 passes (64%) for 10,123 yards with 73 TDs and 24 INTs.
"Had a great combine interview, which kind of sparked us to want to get down to Clemson and work him out and spend some more time within and we went down there, and again, it was a great exposure," Mougey said. "Being there on campus [along with OC Frank Reich] with him in the room talking ball, felt very natural. Felt like there was a connection there. Getting on the field, doing the workout, [he] showed well. So felt really good about Cade, a young player that has a lot of experience, you know, played a lot of snaps in high school, 30-0 record in Texas [Westlake HS in Austin], went to Clemson as a young, I think, 17-year-old, three-year starter at Clemson won a lot of games there. Unfortunately, had a down year this year, but still, young, athletic with some upside, and feel really good about being able to get him."
The Jets got in position to draft Klubnik via a picks swap with the Cincinnati Bengals. They traded up 18 slots in Round 4, marking the Jets' largest upward move in a picks-for-picks same-draft-day trade in franchise history.
